Re: story of a rusty 65 Galaxie 500 LTD

One summer night when I was still patrolling the streets, I parked myself next to a business with a good wireless signal and read the whole story. I really enjoyed it, kind of like a good book. If that isn't a restoration however, I don't know what is!

 

V8Shadow- thanks

I still wouldnt say restored as its a patchwork quilt underneath...inner wheelhouses are patched, front fenderwells patched, floor patched, trunk patched, frame new steel siderails/arches/torqueboxes spliced onto salvageable part of front clip and a rear crossmember...definitely can tell its not original, but structurally sound and all the rots been cut out- except for the doors...still look too good to justify putting the new ones on and having to repaint the whole thing...maybe after the old mustang gets done...
the most amazing thing about this car is my old neighbor Ben told me to keep the aluminum trim waxed- thats why it lasted so long- one of the trunk spears has gotten a bit of the 'whitish' tint that happens to old anodized aluminum, but the grille and all the rest look like new still(one little tiny gravel ding under the grille). He sure loved this old car- too bad he didnt like bigblock convertibles huh It still blows my mind that the hood/doors are 40 year old enamel and smooth as glass, no dings/scratches...just 'bald spots' wher he rubbed thru the paint along the creases from all the washing/waxing he did on it over the years....with the color unless you get up close you really dont notice how thin the paint is, but it still shines mirror straight on the hood/doors...heres a few more pictures of some of the patching that had to be cobbled up:

man I hate rust...

 

You did some very nice work right there. You can call it patchwork, but I call it nicely done! Sheet metal fitment is not as easy as it looks!

 

Well, I too would call it a restoration, at least restored to a good looking road worthy classic. Nice job on that LTD.

 

Great job on a really nice car. That is restoration for those of us that have to do it ourselves, and a good job, too. That's a lot of hours, but all put into a worthy project. Congratulations on a mission completed!
Charles

 

Nice job on the car and even better job on the story. A lot could be learned from the relationship you had with your neighbor, it was about more than the car.

 

Nice job on the car and even better job on the story. A lot could be learned from the relationship you had with your neighbor, it was about more than the car.

thanks- yeah, it was more than just a old 4 door Galaxie- it was somebody's pride and joy...and I gotta admit it's kinda grown on me a bit too. will never be a show car, but still looks pretty presentable and barring an accident should be around for a long time to come. I need to getthe front seat bottom reupholstered soon, it was ripped and is fast falling apart...
I had the coolest neighbors anyone could ever have- Jim and Ben lived on either side of us, they grew up together, their kids married and they had common grandkids- 2 doors up was my model airplane flying buddy Al. Al's wife found him a airplane at a yardsale for 15 bucks- we spent about 30 hours putting it together, and it turned out better than mine we flew it twice, then he just continued to fly mine off the 'buddy box' because he was afraid of crashing his...I bet he put at least 300 hours on that old trainer of ours...we'd go out the kids and Al would take turns- he never did quite get to landing though, every time he'd get close to the ground he'd get twitchy and I'd have to pull up...
mine had a 4 cycle and would run 30+ minutes on a tank of fuel, and we wore that old thing out...
Jim died Sept '04, Ben Nov '04, then Al was diagnosed with A.L.S. mid November, went downhill incredibly fast- died Feb 1st of '05...I'd lived between them all for over 20 years and they were all more like parents than neighbors. I'd helped Ben fix the carb on the old gal back in the mid '80's- he kept trying to get me to buy it, but I didnt care too much for 4 doors
We moved last year, I never woulda dreamed of moving, but we had outgrown our house(three kids, now a 4th son due end of january), and with almost all the neighbors gone, just wasnt the same anymore. Jim's wife is the only one left now- we still see her every month or so, and I drop in on Ben's brother Don every week or two- he's 84 now, and quite a character- like his brother, he loves to tease my kids and they get right back after him. Those old guys really went thru a lot- grew up in the depression, lived thru wwII, had a lot of neat cars (and they all enjoyed talking about the cars they had over the years). Ive had more fun talking with these old guys than they'll ever know, sadly there aint many left. anyone that gets a chance ought to try to get to know their old neighbors- sometimes a generation gap or two can be a very interesting thing, I know times we shared with these old guys and their wives was always rewarding...

 

Bravo!!

 

What you did fits my definition of a restoration. There is nothing wrong with patching rust since replacing is either not the way to go due to lack of or quality of replacement parts. You did a fine job and your metalsmith abilities shine! Nice old Galaxie. I have looked at cars in just as bad shape but my metal working abilities are lacking.

Later!
Mr. Ed

 

Excellent telling of your time with your friends, you're a lucky guy!

 

looks good!!

 

Just a note...5 yrs ago since 'ol Ben passed away. man how time flies.

 

Time does fly, but doing things like this will keep them in remembrance for ages to come!